The Darjeeling woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, primarily in the Himalayas, and in some adjoining areas.
Region
Eastern Himalaya and adjacent hills
Typical Environment
Occurs from central and eastern Nepal through Sikkim and Darjeeling into Bhutan and northeastern India, extending into northern Myanmar and parts of southwestern China. It inhabits mature temperate broadleaf and mixed forests with substantial deadwood, including oak–rhododendron belts and conifer stands. Forest edges, clearings with scattered large trees, and wooded ravines are also used. In winter it may descend to lower montane and foothill forests where food is more abundant.
Altitude Range
800–3300 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Darjeeling woodpecker is a medium-sized pied woodpecker of the eastern Himalayas, often seen working methodically along mossy trunks and large branches. It favors mature montane forests with oak, rhododendron, and conifers, and commonly performs altitudinal movements between seasons. Like many woodpeckers, it communicates and advertises territory through resonant drumming on hollow wood. Pairs excavate fresh nest cavities each year, which later benefit other cavity-nesting species.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
undulating with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs, sometimes with mixed-species foraging flocks. Pairs excavate nest cavities in dead or decaying wood and are presumed monogamous for the season. They defend territories by drumming and vocal calls, and both sexes participate in cavity excavation and chick rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Calls are sharp pik notes and rattling series given during foraging or territorial encounters. Drumming is a rapid, resonant roll on hollow trunks or branches, often used for advertisement. Vocalizations carry well through dense montane forest.
Plumage
A pied woodpecker with black upperparts and bold white scapular patches, barred black-and-white wings, and whitish to buff underparts with fine streaking on the flanks. The vent and undertail coverts are crimson. The face shows a white cheek with contrasting black malar and post-ocular stripes. Sexes are similar, but the male shows red on the crown while the female’s crown is black.
Diet
Feeds primarily on wood-boring beetle larvae, ants, and other insects gleaned from bark and extracted from decaying wood. It probes crevices, pecks and hammers to access grubs, and flakes bark with powerful blows. Seasonally it may take small quantities of fruit or seeds, especially when insect prey is scarce.
Preferred Environment
Forages on trunks and large limbs of mature trees in montane broadleaf and mixed forests. It favors areas with ample snags and deadwood, forest edges, and old orchards or wooded clearings.
